Chapter 284

Even though it’s a similarly cheesy ability, Joshua can at least see through the future, right? If he hadn’t confirmed that he could definitely off you, would he have done this?

As expected, amidst the worried gazes of the bunch of rebels, the middle-aged Joshua didn’t agree outright but instead started to bring up conditions.

“You can’t leave the bottles here; you must take them all with you!”

Not only did he straight-up ban Senior Pione’s request, but the clearly well-prepared middle-aged Joshua continued, “Just like in the countless choices we’ve made together, next comes an old broom. You can ride it to fly away, and that has to be handed over for them to take too. Also, the pendant around your neck, a little dog with yellow hair on its head, and… ”

“No.”

After rejecting the middle-aged Joshua, Leon coldly warned,

“Don’t try to trick me. I know exactly what kind of conditions you might offer. Besides the thermos and the broom, there’s no way I’d hand over anything else.”

“Hmph, desperate attempt.”

Probably having already tried different futures, knowing that Leon would immediately fight him to the death, the middle-aged Joshua didn’t persist but pointed to the door on the other side of the secret harbor,

“The door is already prepared ahead of time. Once they pass through it, they’ll reach the mountains on the other side of the capital city. But don’t expect them to help deliver messages for you.

I won’t leave such a foolish loophole. This door has an anomalous item hanging on it that disrupts the spirit, suppressing everyone who passes through, whether it’s them or whatever is inside the thermos. There will be absolutely no time to find someone to save you.”

“…”

“Besides…”

…

When given enough time to prepare, the ability to foresee the future is truly obnoxious.

Following the “instructions” of the middle-aged Joshua, handing over the broom and thermos to the group of rebels, and doing some miscellaneous tasks as arranged, Leon began silently praying that the self in the future that Joshua saw would have the same intentions as his current self.

According to the information he gleaned from the [Otherworld Door], if one only arrives in the future for a day or two, Joshua can continuously enter and exit. However, reaching a more distant future requires an enormous cost and consumption, making it impossible to open the door repeatedly in a short period.

So the only way to fool this half-baked “prophet” is to make a big commotion and fake death for a short while, betting that due to insufficient information, after seeing me “dead,” he leaves without opening the door again to check the more distant future.

As for whether it’s possible not to hide…

Let’s just say the probability is extremely low.

Glancing at the [Alcoholic Immortal] badge on the panel, feeling the connection between his aura and the sheep heart and horn, Leon couldn’t help but feel slightly reassured.

With the number of trump cards I have now, eliminating so many guards is definitely out of the question, but surviving should be more than enough. The chances of dying here are incredibly slim. Therefore, the self in the future that Joshua saw, who was successfully duped, is most likely faking death.

After all, the boarding tower area is so vast, without even a tree, let alone a door that he can use to come and go. As long as I find a place without doors nearby where he cannot closely inspect my “corpse,” the possibility of successfully fooling him is absurdly high.

However, while Leon had confidence in surviving, the group of rebels didn’t know his plans.

After receiving the broom and thermos from Leon, watching their new leader willingly sacrifice himself for their safe evacuation, even Oliver, who seemed the most “pragmatic,” had red-rimmed eyes. Lucy and her sisters, who were more emotional, bit their lips until they turned white, and large tears kept rolling down their cheeks.

Though they harbored doubts about this new leader with questionable origins who didn’t quite match up with “Xiaoba Jin,” it was only after Leon’s description revealed the first glimpse of the road ahead that they chose to temporarily follow him.

What hurt them even more was that their new leader, almost flawless in courage, wisdom, insight, and character, had to sacrifice himself because of the machinations of the old leader who treated them as tools, all to prevent the outbreak of war.

The two leaders they had experienced were stark contrasts: one young, passionate, pure, and radiant like the rising sun; the other dark, sneaky, unsavory, with a soul decaying faster than his body.

And now, this young, passionate soul was about to be killed by that despicable man due to his own unwavering beliefs and noble ideals. Such a sharp contrast left the hearts of the rebels painfully twisted.

…

“You will always be our leader.”

Oliver shot a cold glance toward middle-aged Joshua, then said nothing, remembering both leaders’ appearances in his heart before bowing deeply to Leon.

Immediately afterward, the rest of the rebels followed suit, glaring angrily or filled with hatred at Joshua, then bowing to Leon one by one, their faces full of genuine sorrow.

“…”

Good grief… It feels like a farewell ceremony for the deceased…

Being made uncomfortable by the overly solemn attitude of the rebels but unable to reveal his plan to fake death, Leon activated the [Performance Master] skill and politely returned each bow.

However, thanks to the enhanced performance brought by [Performance Master], looking into his gentle yet resolute gaze deepened the sorrow in the hearts of the rebels. Even Joshua, who had already experienced this scene in advance, couldn’t help but slightly look away, revealing a complex expression in his eyes.

Unfortunately… But I have no choice either.

Just as Joshua sighed over their similar predicaments, Leon suddenly turned his head and looked at him, calmly asking, “Joshua, those people inside the airship… ”

“Sure.”

Before Leon could finish his sentence, the middle-aged Joshua, who had already “rehearsed” several times and knew what he was going to say, directly replied,

“The people in the airship don’t necessarily have to die. You can carry them out and let them go together, but they must be locked up and prevented from contacting the Crocodile Kingdom.”

“Alright.”

Upon hearing this, Leon nodded, even smiling at Joshua before re-entering the airship.

Once his figure disappeared into the cabin, Joshua, under the angry stares of the rebels, took out a small signal gun and fired a signal flare into the sky with a bang.

“Hurry up.”

Under the crimson glow of the signal flare, Joshua coldly urged,

“For that guy’s sake, this time I won’t lay a hand on you rebels. But if you’re still here when the soldiers arrive, don’t blame me if you get killed!”

(End of Chapter)